What would you cook to impress a vegetarian, a fine palate, a friend and a chef? Well, last night I had to please these 4 characters sitting at my table and the challenge was huge.
The strategy? Yellow gold, elegant green and a touch of lemon: risotto gluten free with saffron and asparagus.
The secret? Using a pan from Le Pentole della Salute collection. These pans are highly innovative and they please whoever (like me) is looking for a kitchenware that do not alter the food cooked inside and is safe for food allergies. Thanks to the Silver extraordinary properties, which is the heart of the treatment used by G.H.A. to realise these jewels, I can cook safely and be sure my food won't stick on the pan (they are available on Amazon).
Here a time-lapse of the making:
Ingredients (for 6 servings):
- 500 grams of rice for Risotto
- 500 grams of asparagus
- 2 vegetable gluten-free stock cubes
- 0,5 grams of saffron
- 50 grams of butter
- 1 lemon
- 1 onion
- Parmesan cheese
- Olive oil, pepper, salt
The making:
I previously posted a gluten-free risotto recipe which involved wine and mushrooms but, different ingredients require different procedures. This time, I didn't prepare a mirepoix but I toasted the rice with only onions and olive oil before starting cooking it with the asparagus.
Let's start from the beginning:
1. Cut the asparagus into rounds, leaving the edges at the end to make them julienned.
Grate the skin of one lemon, then cut it and use the juice of half of it as a dressing for the asparagus. Add black pepper and salt.
2. In a separate pot, prepare the broth with 2 Knorr vegetable stock cubes and half a litre of water (if you have time, you can always try to make the broth yourself with fresh vegetables).
3. Warm up the pan with olive oil and then cut half of an onion in small cubes. Add the cubes to the warm oil and after 1 minute add 500 grams of rice. The rice needs to toast till its colour turns from white to gold, only in that moment you can add the asparagus to it.
4. Add the broth to the risotto till covering it completely and taste the rice constantly to understand when it's cooked. Generally, it should be ready when the water evaporates but if you think it needs more time, then keep adding normal water to it. This is the moment to check on the salt as well: add the quantity you like to make it tastier.
5. When the rice is cooked, add 50 grams of butter to whisk it and then 0,5 grams of saffron to give it the golden touch.
6. Put the rice into the plate and decorate with grated lemon skin, olive oil, pepper and parmesan cheese.
Let me know about your gluten free risotto, here is mine:
Buon appetito!